JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Western relied on hot shooting and strong rebounding to beat the Lincoln men's basketball team, 82-73, on Thursday evening (Feb. 22).

The Blue Tigers were led offensively by Amariontez Ivory with 23 points and Maurice Mason with 20. Ivory also grabbed four rebounds while Mason dished five assists to go with a block and a steal. John Burton and Calvin Chambers each finished with 10 points, with Burton also tallying three boards, a pair of assists and a a steal. Chambers, meanwhile, had three assists.

Missouri Western (6-19, 4-14 MIAA) led for nearly the entire game, including building a six-point lead with 6:30 to play in the opening half. A jumper by Mason allowed Lincoln (15-12, 9-9 MIAA) to tie the game at 36, and the teams traded threes before a trey by the Griffons with less than a second remaining put MWSU ahead, 42-39. Chambers nearly tied the contest again, as he heaved a three from 65-feet away from the basket that swished through the net, but replays later showed the ball was still in his hands just as time expired.

The Griffons shot .471 in the first half and came out hot in the second, making 15 of their 25 field goal attempts to finish .525 from the floor for the ballgame. The Blue Tigers started the game hot from long range, shooting .545 from three-point range in the first half, but shot .286 from beyond the arc over the game's final 20 minutes.

MWSU, which opened the second half on an 18-6 run before holding on for the win, out-rebounded Lincoln, 37-27, though the Blue Tigers won turnover battle, 6-9. Marquise Williams and Terrance Smith tied for the team lead in rebounding with seven apiece, with Smith also generating seven points and an assist. Alexander Nailes provided two points and a block while Darrius Spencer added a rebound, a steal and a free throw. Grant Olsson also represented LU on the stat sheet with a rebound.

Lincoln has already punched its postseason ticket, but will determine its final seeding in the MIAA tournament on Saturday (Feb. 24) when the Blue Tigers host Northwest Missouri in the final regular season contest for both teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CST.